


Round Robin Fic

by AKyou, DragonEyez, Luckynumber13, Nerdamongnerds, Nobodybitesherlip, nwfairy, vanishedSchism, Zambo, Zylinbia



Category: Godsfall Podcast D&D Campaign
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 04:51:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11246679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKyou/pseuds/AKyou, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonEyez/pseuds/DragonEyez, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luckynumber13/pseuds/Luckynumber13, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdamongnerds/pseuds/Nerdamongnerds, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nobodybitesherlip/pseuds/Nobodybitesherlip, https://archiveofourown.org/users/nwfairy/pseuds/nwfairy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanishedSchism/pseuds/vanishedSchism, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zambo/pseuds/Zambo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zylinbia/pseuds/Zylinbia
Summary: [Coming Soon]





	1. This is Just the Beginning

It all started with one stupid box.

              The box was just out of reach and Xion was _so_ close to finally finishing the last of his packing. He _needed_ that box, if only it were just a couple inches closer. And then suddenly it was.

              Well that was odd. As Xion stood contemplating his newly gained prize, he heard a loud thump from behind. Dropping the box in his hands, he dashed across the room to where his mother stood in a stunned stupor – an abandoned box of her own lying at her feet. “Are you okay? Have you injured yourself? What were you carrying? Nothing breakable I hope – “

              His mother cut him off with a hushed, “What have you done?”

              “What do you mean?” Xion asked, at a volume no lower than he had been speaking before. Why was his mother whispering? And, for that matter, what did she think he’d done? Thinking over the last few days, Xion could think of no actions of his own that could possibly have sparked such anger in his mother. He’d been quite busy packing up most of his belongings for the last few days. All of his life was currently packed away in the trunk of his car. Perhaps one of his older brothers had framed him for something again, it would be far from the first time that they had attempted to evade punishment at Xion’s expense, but their mother could typically see through their ruse.

              Dainty hands with a far firmer grip than Xion had ever known grasped his shoulders and brought his attention back into the moment as his mother shushed him, “Quietly, or your father might hear. The box – I saw it move. What did you do?” Xion was puzzled by the look on his mother’s face as it slowly dawned on him, it wasn’t anger twisting her features. It was fear. His mother was afraid, but his mother was _never_ afraid.

              “I, I have done nothing. The box was just out of reach and I suppose I simply managed to extend myself a little further. The box can’t have moved. How could it have moved? What are you suggesting?” This line of questioning was starting to sound like an inquisition. She couldn’t possibly be suggesting what he thought she was.

              “You know exactly what I mean Xion. Quickly, you must leave now before your father catches wind of this. I will make your excuses and send along anything that you might have forgotten, but you must leave now,” She commanded while firmly handing Xion the box she had carried in and pushing him out the door. Once he had put the box into the trunk, she closed the door and passed her son his bag. “Leave now and you should make it to Ani by nightfall. Call me when you get there. I love you.” Xion’s mother kissed him on the head and turned away. As the door closed, Xion could have sworn that he heard her say, “I was afraid this might happen.”

              Crossing the city limit, a chill ran down Xion’s spine as the impact of his mother’s words truly struck him. This might be the last time Xion could ever see the town where he was raised. If he had really started to develop powers, as his mother seemed to think, then his family would never welcome him into their home again. How could this have happened? Xion had never been struck by lightning nor fallen into radiation or unknown chemicals. Obviously, nobody in his family had ever exhibited powers before, so they couldn’t possibly be inherited. He couldn’t think of any way he could have possibly manifested powers; after all, every super that Xion had ever heard of had gained their powers somehow. There was always some sort of reason to it. There was no reason for this – and that, well that terrified him.

 

 

**Hero Helios Torn Assunder by Sinister Stitcher**

_Yesterday, the citizens of Hogsfeet watched in terror as their beloved hero, Helios was publicly executed by known enemy, The Stitcher. The gruesome scene was broadcast on every local network by The Stitcher as a “warning to all those who might be tempted by vigilantism.” The mayor said in a press conference several hours later that Helios is to be given a memorial ceremony and his remains are to be cremated as is fitting of the fiery hero._


	2. All's Fair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we meet half the team

“I’ve, um, got an order here? It’s a caramel latte.” Pera looked around the shop for the boy who had definitely ordered the drink he was currently holding. “It’s for… Xion? I’ve got a caramel latte for Xion on the bar.” When that didn’t get anyone’s attention either, Pera set the back cup down and moved back to the espresso machine to gently bump Dorro out of his spot. The halfling happily moved back up to the front to continue taking orders. “It’s been a while, you don’t think he left without his drink or something, do you?”

“You know, Pera, you just gotta be _louder_ when you call out orders.” He said. “Like this! **Hey Xion your latte is ready!** ”

Pera, Rina, and everyone else winced as Dorro yelled loud enough to startle even the people in the back wearing headphones. After a few moments, a sheepish looking boy approached the bar and lifted the cup still waiting to be claimed. “This one is mine isn’t it? Sorry for causing issues, I was really caught up in this book and-”

“Hey it’s no problem. Really.” Pera offered him a tentative smile. 

Xion elected to take a drink instead of responding, and then made a truly ridiculous face. It was shock and regret mixed up in one and Pera definitely did _not_ snort at the indignation that he finally settled on. “I may have… made a mistake. In letting this sit here too long, I mean. You didn’t make a mistake, the drink is excellent!”

“It’s okay, give it here and I’ll heat it up. It’s not a big deal.” Pera smiled at him again and Xion readily relinquished the cup. It took a little bit of concentration, but Pera felt his hands slowly heat up and focused the energy into Xion’s drink. After a few moments, it was back to acceptable temperatures and Pera handed it off to a suddenly skittish-looking Xion.

“Do you- uh. I thought- Isn’t it- You didn’t have to go to all the trouble I mean.”

“Oh no it was really no trouble at all! Thought that’d be better for everyone, instead of me having to make you a whole new drink.” Pera elected not to mention that that was only the second time he’d managed to do that without lighting something on fire. Somehow he didn’t think that would make Xion feel better. “Anyway, have a nice day! Enjoy your book!”

“Yeah, you too.” Xion muttered before he scurried off.

Pera sighed. Maybe he should’ve just remade the drink instead. It wasn’t like it was a great secret that people distrusted supers. After all, they killed-

“Wow Pera that was Amazing!” Dorro was at Pera’s side in an instant, pulling him away from his thoughts. His friend shook his arm as he enthused about Pera’s growing control. “And you didn’t even make it smoke that time! You’re getting so much better! I told you you just need to practice more! Hey Rina, did you see what Pera did?!”  
“No I didn’t, Dorro,” Rina called to the back. “‘Cause I’m doing my job. And your job right now.” 

Dorro stuck his tongue out at Rina good-naturedly and clapped Pera on the back before moving back up to the front. 

“And good job, Pera.” Rina said over her shoulder. 

He smiled softly to himself.

Work kept Pera’s mind occupied as they day dragged on. Although The Montgomery wasn’t the only or even most popular coffee shop on campus, it was still early into the first month of school, which meant that it was fairly packed for most of the day. All manner of people were whirling through to buy coffee and whatever other local stuff the artists and crafters had brought in to sell this week. Dorro was taking full advantage of the high volume of people to advertise his one-man show that he was planning to put on in a few weeks. He seemed to have an unending amount of flyers for it too, but Pera had no idea where he was getting them from. By the time their shift was over, Pera was exhausted, and even Dorro seemed a little less bouncy. All Pera wanted to do was collapse on one of the beanbag chairs with some tea until his feet stopped hurting, so that’s what he did. However, it seemed like the universe had other plans.

Pera was only resting for a few minutes before a firm “ahem” made him crack open one eye. To his surprise, the boy from earlier was standing over him. 

“Oh, hey Xion, right?” 

“Yeah, that’s me. I wanted to apologize for earlier.”

“What happened earlier?” Pera had interacted with so many people that day that he genuinely had no clue what Xion was talking about, but Xion seemed to think he was ribbing him.

“I was unnecessarily rude to you, and that is inexcusable. I shouldn’t have reacted to you using your powers like that. I’m not, I’m not really used to people being so open about theirs- I mean it.” 

“Have you been waiting here this whole time?” 

“Yes. I wanted to make sure I rectified the situation as quickly as possible. Also I realized I said ‘you too’ when you said you hoped I enjoyed my book and I was absolutely mortified. So yes. I’ve been here for the last several hours.” He actually clasped his hands behind his back once he was finished, and that was the final straw for Pera. With a laugh, he patted the beanbag next to him.

“Please take a seat, Xion. Apology accepted.”  
“Oh, uh, thank you.” The other boy tried to sit down in the chair with dignity, but ended up collapsing with limbs flailing. This set Pera off laughing again, although he did try to be polite and hid it behind a cough.

“Oh yeah, did you end up enjoying your book?” 

“Yeah I did! It was about the rapid development of superpowers in the populace over the last ten or so years. A really interesting study, all said, although I must admit it was a bit dry in parts. I really enjoyed th-” He trailed off suddenly, as if somebody pulled the plug on his train of thought. “I’m sorry I was rambling. I have a tendency to do that. So how long have you worked at The Montgomery?”

“About a month now. You a student?” He looked like a student, Pera thought. Young, wide-eyed, and an air of “I am way out of my depth” that most incoming freshmen possessed. 

“Yeah, a freshman. I just realized that I haven’t actually introduced myself yet, either. I’m Xion Praeten.” He stuck a hand out to Pera, who took it with a smile.

“I’m Pera Rivers. Nice to meet you, too. So Xion, what do you think of Khal U so far?” 

“It’s really interesting! Did you know…”

As Xion regaled Pera with various fun facts and interesting tidbits about the history of the area, Pera examined his face. He was unusually put-together for a college student, to the point of his shirt being ironed. There was a sort of nervous energy contained within him that was nearly bursting at the seams. He especially noticed that the other boy’s hands kept twitching, like he wanted to use them to illustrate his points but couldn’t. There was a genuine enthusiasm that was practically infectious though. Pera couldn’t fight a small smile away as Xion continued on.

That made him pause. “What? Did I say something funny?”

“You’re kind of a nerd, huh?”

Xion looked absolutely crestfallen, and Pera scrambled to recover. “It’s cute! I meant to say it’s cute!”

“Oh.” A beat skipped. “I, um, I like your tattoos.” 

Now they were both blushing lightly, and Pera took a drink to try and cover the fact that he was smiling again. Before either of them could pick up the conversation again, Xion’s phone started beeping alarmingly, and he scrambled to check it. Whatever was on his wasn’t what he wanted to see according to the loud unhappy groan he made.  
“I’m very sorry, but I have to go like right now. I really don’t want to though, I was having a enjoyable time with you and I wish I could stay.”

Pera decided to take a small risk and reached a hand over to rest on top of Xion’s. “Don’t worry about it. Besides, you know where to find me if you want to talk more. Maybe we’ll sit in real chairs next time though.”

“Right, um, yes!” Xion jumped up from the beanbag. “Yes I will come see you another time. This was great have a nice night!” He yelled the last part as he speed walked out of the shop. 

Barely a moment had passed before Dorro popped up out of nowhere at Pera’s side, startling the poor boy. “Well he sure was interesting!”


	3. Early Morning Introductions and Poorly Made Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet Phyrane, Xion goes to class, and Dorro can't spell.

It was pretty clear the elven woman wasn't a freshman.

Sure, not every new kid was clutching books to their chest, looking round with saucer eyes and getting lost trying to find the English admin offices (honestly Xion wasn't sure anyone knew where those were) but even standing here with a corridor of only freshman and literally no other reason to be out here in the nth hall of the physics department at this godforsaken am... yeah, she still couldn't be a freshman.

It was 8am and the corridor was nearly silent. There was a gaggle of students; fifteen people that made up Xion's class lounging on the wall waiting for the Professor to show up for their second seminar. But eight am was too early for chatting. A few students idly sipped their coffees, hands wound tight around the paper cups, vacantly waiting for the caffeine to help. One guy was frantically reading the text book, occasionally mouthing the odd word "-fermions-" as though the introduction in the textbook was going to save him from all the reading he hadn't done.

So, Xion, holding his own empty coffee cup (the cute barista hadn't been there this morning, this coffee was heated in a more standard way) went back to looking at the elf woman.

She was tall (elf), pretty (elf) and had that haughty look of distain (...elf) and hadn't once glanced in any of their directions. Maybe she was there as a teaching assistant? A PhD student who owed hours to Professor Voara for helping with their dissertation?

She seemed to feel him staring, because a second later piercing eyes met his and a posh and drawly voice broke the corridor's silence.

Xion felt 15 pairs of eyes look their way.

"I'm not here for the class, I'm just waiting to give Vo- why am I telling you this. Do you know why Voara's late? I have places I need to be."

"I, do not. Actually. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. If you need to go and it's something you have to give her maybe I can do it for you? I don't mind, I have to be here for the class in any respect."

She twisted her mouth, just a little and so subtly Xion wasn't sure if he imagined it, because then she was smiling (still a little condescendingly).

"No thank you, I'll try later I suppose."

She turned on her very expensive looking heels and walked off down the corridor.

"-Are you sure? It's really no trouble!" 

-but she was gone. 

***

Phyrane forgot about the dark haired eager to please freshman as soon as she was out of the physics block. He'd been radiating such intense curiosity, a weird level of alertness for the hour- but what she read as his admiration for her wasn't unusual in those younger, less good looking, and less wordly people. It was nice,and all, but it was getting boring. 

She pulled out her phone and checked her reflection in the forward facing camera. Eights unread texts. 

She put it away again. 

There were also far bigger things to be worrying about than a freshman. Namely, Phyrane's overbearing father finally figuring out which of her many friend's houses she'd been staying at for the last few weeks and dragging her back home. 

Dragging was hyperbolic, of course. It would be more... stopping outside in the company car with the blacked out windows and then very politely charming Ella's parents, and then Phyrane would be taken away, smiling and thanking everyone for her stay. Perfectly polite, not at all a show. As always.

Then she'd be home, again, tedious social gatherings and offers of the dullest internships imaginable with some contacts most students would sell their right leg for. Not that she didn't want to opportunities and success her parents had and wanted for her, she just... wanted to earn them in her own way. And you know, not be hovered over like prize poodle while she did it. 

And right now, for the last week at least what Phyrane had wanted was to get in with the student Government President, Sirena Kladivo. While Branock her football idiot was a delightful kisser, there was absolutely no point whatsoever in wasting more of her... abilities on him. He was smitten and loyal as a puppy anyway, but equally as useless. Big eyes, big heart, small head.

Sirena was the president of the student government, a senior student in her final year now and still as active on campus in various societies and unions as she'd been since she arrived as a freshman. Rumours were she was going to go into politics when she graduated top of the class (which everyone agreed was highly likely.) She'd been elected as the general government president, but she was also head of both the black students union AND the LGBT society to boot. And getting top grades. Kind of sickening. 

She even owned a share in that late night hipster coffee joint, apparently. Full of beanbags and hippies in Phyrane's opinion, but as long as she didn't need to sit on one of those germ infested things the coffee was quite decent there. The Montgomery.

Mostly though, Sirena had her own office. A wage. A say on the board of university governors. With Phyrane’s abilities that could could get her everything. 

Looking round at the empty campus Phyrane paused and sighed. The early morning drizzle had dried off, and a gentle sun was peeking through the clouds. It looked like it was going to be a bright and blue day, which would be inducing lots of good moods around campus. That was nice at least. She'd just have to go and find Prof V later and persuade her that she didn't mind a bit about that late problem set. There had been too many freshman standing around anyway, and Phyrane could never be quite sure how using her power looked to bystanders. Oh and that was another thing she didn't need her parents to know. 

Phyrane stepped off the sidewalk to let a student wobble past on their bike. An empty day loomed. Well, she may as well head to the coffee place, and maybe Sirena would be there.

***

Outside The Montgomery, Phyrane nearly turned on her heel and went back the way she'd came. There was a distinctly unkempt dwarf lounging on the bench outside, smoking something hand rolled that smelt distinctly illegal. He even had a daisy tucked in his beard. Hippies. 

However he didn't do more than glance at her as she stepped inside, and she only hurried her pace when she saw a pink nose of some unidentified pet zoom out from under the guy to sniff her as her feet went past. 

Ew, no. 

Inside it was pretty quiet. A quick scan of the counter told her that her prize Sirena wasn't there, but the halfling with the awful haircut and another darker skinned boy with tattoos were chatting behind the counter, and looked up when she came in. 

“Hey it's you!”

“Excuse me?” 

“I'm the fastest at making your coffee but I always spell your name wrong! Large iced Americano for Phoebe?” 

“Phyrane,” she automatically corrected, regretting her decision already. They both looked bored enough to involve her in conversation. She didn't actually remember the halfling either- although- 

He was suddenly about 10ft from where he'd been standing before, holding something covered in cream and chocolate sauce gesturing to her with it.

“I'm not meant to leave the bar do you mind telling Torvik that I made him his sugar-rush chocolate-caffeine-Torvik-special … thing?” 

“Uh-” 

Thankfully the human boy with the tattoos saved her. 

“It's okay Dorro. I'll take it.” 

The kid grabbed the drink and gave her a shy apologetic look, squeezing round her to go to the dwarf outside. 

“Can I please just get my coffee? Large iced Americano and don't bother putting a name on it. I’m the only one here.” 

“But I gotta though!” He sang cheerfully, popping back another 10ft and setting a machine hissing with a hiss of steam and a crunching whirr of grinding beans. 

Powers. Interesting. 

Last time Phyrane had been in here there'd been that senior with the athletic superpower everyone had been raving about. Excelled at everything and was one of the few students who advertised and profited from their abilities. Sports major, on all the teams. 

When Phyrane first felt her powers manifest and she'd figured out what was going on, she'd spent a while reading and googling. There were various studies that hypothesised a correlation between levels of education and predisposition to 'powers’, but they were mostly written by academics who were clearly still hoping they were about to develop the ability to fly at 63. It was probably utter garbage, but there were an awful lot of super powered people on campus now. Interesting. Worth keeping in with. 

Phyrane accepted and paid for her coffee, realising that the halfling guy had been chatting at her all along-

“-and so Torvik called her Oinkers? It's really funny when stop and ask to to pet her because-”

“It's with a P H, actually.” 

“What?” 

“You don't spell Phyrane with an F. It doesn't matter. Is Sirena here?” 

“Not today sorry- are you a friend? Maybe you can write a note on something- we have napkins- people wrote on those sometimes I think, and then-"

“It's alright. What was your name?”

“I'm Dorro!” 

“Alright.” 

Phyrane turned to leave.

“We have poetry night tonight by the way! It sometimes devolves into karaoke but it's just as good and it's free if you buy a drink while you’re here! Sirena should be there!” 

Phyrane paused, just a little. “Sure. Thank you Dorro.” 

It sounded… awful. But her parents would never look for her here this evening, and judging by the text barrage they had decided it was time to retrieve her. 

Well, why not give it a try.


	4. Nighttime Wanderings

There was a memorial perched above the main field in the center of campus, commemorating the lives lost from an Anti-theot attack many years ago. Which made it a bit awkward of a place for Xion to enjoy hanging out on, but at night it was so relaxing to sit on the edge and watch students cross the field below on the glowing sidewalks. Tonight however, as he made his way up the steps, he realized he wasn’t alone.

“Oh, hello. Uh, Rina, right?” He said to the familiar elf who was sitting on the edge of the memorial.

“Yeah, and you’re Xion… Yeah, the one that Pera keeps talking about.” Rina scooted over and Xion sat down next to her, trying not to blush too hard at the idea of Pera talking about him. “It’s so peaceful up here, don’tcha think?”

“It is…” Xion cleared his throat. “At home, there was a huge empty field near my house that I would go to at night, just to clear my head.”

“It reminds me of home. Even though I could see the stars there- here there’s so much light pollution. My friend, Aramil and I would climb the trees near our neighborhood and he would teach me the constellations.” Rina paused, lost in thought, and Xion was glad it was dark enough that she couldn’t see him blink back tears. He sat on his hands and struggled for something to break the silence.

“So… Pera having powers, huh? That’s pretty unusual.”

“You must not have been in Ani very long,” Rina chuckled. “It seems like everyone and their mother has powers. Or maybe I just know a statistically above average amount of magical people. Dorro can teleport, Pera can set things on fire, Torrvic’s pig turns into other animals, and I- well I seem to be pretty good at poker but I don’t know if that counts.” She smiled at Xion. “You’ll get used to it.”

“Hold on- someone owns a pig? Isn’t that illegal?” “Well, Torrvic also smokes pot so I don’t think legality really stops him.” Xion shook his head in amazement. “He’s a pretty good guy, actually, if you get past his belief that some wolf has him on a mission. Anyway, where are you from?”

Xion’s mouth went suddenly very dry.

“Just, uh- all over, my parents moved a lot. Listen, I have a test in the morning, I should really get going.” He scrambled to his feet. “It was nice talking to you, Rina.”

“Nice talking to you too,” Rina called out as he walked away.

**CAMPUS NEWSLETTER- SEPTEMBER 12th**

Come to the club festival this Saturday! Freshman especially encouraged- come check out all the clubs the College of Ani has to offer, and sign up for them too!


End file.
